Who wants a perfect Christmas? I don't

DD said it was one of her best ever Christmases, despite over cooked turkey and parsnips and spending longer in church than planned.

We sat on the settee, talked, read and watched 'Miss Pettigrew lives for a day' and because we both took to Ciaron Hinds, we watched him as Captain Wentworth in Persuasion.

We had the calmest, most stress-free Christmas Day I can remember. We spent Christmas Eve having a lovely dinner at DD's - exchanged presents and had charades and chats and it was just super. I was very proud of our girl - she is a brilliant hostess and cook, DSiL was his usual welcoming self and DGC were loving and very pleased with our gifts to them.

On "the day" DH and I both had surprise parcels ( we had agreed not to do them!) and I had the Lowry print I've had my eye on for ages but best of all, DH finally agreed that I can go ahead and adopt the two cats I want. I went to sing carols with some of my choir at a community lunch for those who would have been on their own otherwise. That was a special and rewarding event and I'm glad we did it.

Then returned and I cooked - lobster tail starter, roast pheasant and all the trimmings and my special pud - a chocolate bombe. All eaten and enjoyed by candlelight and then a face time with DS and family ski-ing in Austria. I went to bed a very happy and fortunate GN!

Not including friend disaster on another thread...

My lovely tidy house was totally trashed by the traditional rip fest when opening presents. Then toys were strewn throughout the house. New pieces of lego were lying in wait to leap under uncovered feet and did so on several occasions. It was brilliant.

My living room looked trashed after my son and his family ( 2 adults, 1 teenager &3 under 6's) left yesterday evening. I really mean really trashed.the contents of two boxes of crackers strewed over the floor, ankle deep in wrapping paper, dining table covered in empty dirty plates, half eaten food scattered around, Cusions and throws disarranged. Wine and 1 champagne bottle left on side. We'd spent most of the day in this state all with the the music from two disney dolls wineing out the theme from 'frozen' the noise from a remote controlled transforma. One grandchild hit in the head by a champagne cork,one 6 yr old hit in the eye by a sword yielding G.S. one poorly 2 year old. One D.H spent the day with a screw driver in hand fixing batteries in said toys. Far from the 'good houskeeping' ideal but good enough for us and I suspect lots of other lucky families.

I do wish the women's mags would portray just what a family Christmas can really be like and then folk would not strive so hard ,and then feel guilty when it isn't all perfect. Families don't you just "luv em".

I had a lovely Christmas. Six adults, four young GC, three dogs. No one fought or fell out or misbehaved.

But the house, which I'd spent the entire last week cleaning from too to bottom, is now a tip.

So much wine unopened, cake untouched, food uneaten.

But I don't care as we all had a lovely day and then they all went home

Not perfect by any means; SiL has 'man-flu' and was useless resulting in DD not talking to him as she had to cope with their increasingly badly behaved 3 year old all day; I have the mother and father of a chest infection and couldn't eat the hugely expensive beef - or anything else and worse still, the champagne; the children all had far too many presents and still wanted more; GS1 had a massive nose bleed which went on for hours; other GS spilt his drink all over the beautifully laid table saturating everything; GD spent most of the day tantruming because nothing was right and the smallest GS found the whole experience too much and sobbed his way through most of the day. Oh well, only another week to go before they go home and I get the decorators in to repair the damage!

Sorry absent what a disappointment for you.

This too shall pass absent.

Thank you FlicketyB. What a mess

Absent,

Well, I blew it by being all Pollyana. A lung infection, tummy bug and hugely swollen wrist and hand owing to a sand fly bite to which I am allergic, plus Mr absent being his usual surly self, rather put the kibosh on the whole affair. I did see the grandchildren opening their Christmas presents before embarking on a 12-km walk home. (Absentdaughter found me after the first hour's walking and gave me a lift home.) Next year…

I agree with OP. People have such high expectations they are bound to be disappointed. I had a lovely day with family- I always do. There is no need to start planning it in August!

Having started this thread I was beginning to get really worried, Christmas preparations this year had run on oiled wheels by 9.30am on the 23rd everything was ready, preparations for the festive meal went well yesterday, and DD arrived without problem.

Thankfully this morning things began to go wrong. Our priest was taken ill halfway through the sermon. The curate took over and the priest was recovering by the end of the service but the service went on half an hour longer than planned. This wouldn't have mattered but I recently (2 weeks ago) got a new cooker with an unfamiliar fan-assisted oven. I put the turkey in the oven before going to church on what was clearly too high a temperature and was back half an hour late....... Well, I managed to snatch victory from the mouth of defeat and the Christmas meal was fine, even if the outside of the turkey was mahogany rather than golden brown

Another marvellous imperfect Christmas.

I suppose it all depends on what is meant by perfect. If a facsimile of a glossy magazine lifestyle is what is meant, then no. But Christmas will be perfect for me. This is my second one since moving to New Zealand and just being able to watch the grandchildren open their presents, rather than my posting them at great expense a month before Christmas, is still absolutely magical. Being able to hug everyone when we say "Happy Christmas" beats sending good wishes down the phone. Someone else doing all the cooking after all these years is pretty good too!

At the height of the menopause I couldn't be arsed with anything never mind hosting Christmas.

DH, DDs x 2 and their boyfriends were served sushi which I had bought the day before in M & S

DH and the girls knew this was completely out of character for me and knew why. They were very gracious, we ended up having a good day and eventually laughed at what we called our Japanese Christmas.

Our best Christmas disaster was when the flaming brandy from the pud spilled over and the blue flames licked across my best tablecloth.
DS recorded the drama on his mobile, complete with commentary, liberally smattered with inappropriate swear words.
Fortunately, as alcohol burns at a low temperature, my tablecloth survived intact.
But in the past we have had some sadnesses at Christmas too and I always have a slight feeling of dread, wondering if we will get through it without anything awful happening.

Despite my dislike of the "perfect Christmas concept pursued by the media. I felt dragged into it on Saturday and Sunday when my DD SIL and the Boy came over.

I just got very stressed struggling to get a big dinner together cooked and organised and on the plates while still warm.
DD had to give me a "talking to" about "it does not matter if it's late" etc.

I think I am getting like my mother in my old age. It all worked out OK. I probably need to work about better timing to get food on than I did.
Too busy being distracted by my lovely DGS perhaps. Building lego tunnels is much more fun.

Just put in my final draft of my Tesco home delivery for tomorrow, which is just as well as my doggie has had an emergency visit to the vet last Tuesday and today we are off to the PDSA for a check up so I will be shattered when I get back as it's two train rides and a bus/taxi on four hours sleep. This has set me back time wise and money too and my tidying now will be done by my lazy teen while I am out today (hooray!). (Oh, he's got himself a girlfriend so now his bedroom can be sorted of moving boxes!)

Still no lights yet on my tree as I put order in to Hong Kong? some weeks ago and still not received them. Hope they come today and then tomorrow the tree can be done properly, the budgies cleaned out and final preps on cleaning and tidying. We all know that the big man wont presents unless the house is scrupulously clean, lol. He'll have to get it as is this year.

This year I will be spending my Christmas in Poland at my son's. I have just realised that this will be the first time I have been the guest! They have often come to me for Christmas and I have had the food to worry about...but not this year, what joy. My son is a wonderful cook so will not need any help hopefully and my lovely daughter in law is so organized.......just me and grandson with the toys then yippee

Even been known to try and defrost turkey with a hairdryer kittylester [tchumm] in desperation, and cook it complete with plastic bag of giblets still inside (that one went in the bin, couldn't work out where smell of burning plastic was coming from)
Goodness knows we must have strong constitutions in my family! Not poisoned anyone (yet, everything firmly crossed)

About 15 years ago, on Christmas morning, we brought the turkey in from the garage, where it had been defrosting for a couple of days, (it was a large turkey and a cold garage), only to remove the wrapper and be greeted by a terrible PONG, the turkey was extremely OFF! Obviously we couldn`t take it back to the supermarket. so we had beefburgers for Christmas dinner, then rushed out on Boxing Day morning for something for that day`s dinner. We were told that we should have taken it back to Asda after Christmas, but we weren`t keeping it hanging about smelling like that!

I'm really looking forward to a quiet xmas this year. Just us and DS, who will be home this coming Monday.

Usually we either go up and spend it with The Outlaws, or DD and GCs come to spend it with us, we alternate. But if we go northwards to the outlaws (where we have to do much of the work) we still have DD the day after we return, so I only get less than a day to turn a chilly house into a warm welcoming one and have to do Xmas Day, Take Two. This year we aren't going Oop Narth as the Outlaws have moved and are still in the process of unpacking, so we can have a quiet time until the GCs descend on us. I'm really looking forward to a very leisurely day that I can take at my own pace. I'm starting to find having two xmasses very tiring.

I had what I thought would be a lovely Christmas all lined up many years ago. My mum who had suffering from a terrible Dementia was in a Residential Home and settling in very well and it was my first Christmas not having to cope and knowing she was safe.

We had been invited to Christmas dinner at my son's house and the little girl (not real grand daughter but close enough) had a special party dress to wear.

Woke up on Christmas Day with a terrible cold, sore throat, headache etc., and decided I couldn't impose it on my son and family.

Had to go to the Residential Home in the afternoon or mum would have been very agitated so I spent the afternoon trying not to get too close and pretending I was fine.

Mum didn't catch the cold TG.

Since my DH passed I take Christmas as it comes.

We're having a strange Christmas this year. Daughter in NZ arranged a family Christmas day on the 30th November as we headed back to the UK on the 6th December. She does Christmas really well with carols, 'Christmas eve' tree dressing, good breakfast, etc. etc. In fact we feel we have already had Christmas.
All the presents for OZ and NZ were bought before we travelled so only a few last minute things to buy.
We're having a quiet Christmas day, just the two of us and were going to DD3 on Boxing Day - this has all changed! DD3's twins will be delivered on the 23th Dec. so I think we will be visiting them on Christmas day and taking something nice to eat.
I have done very little shopping yet, just some after eights, mince pies, pudding and some cheese. These are obviously the most important items. I remember over years the big panic to feel obliged to buy everything, just in case. However, the shops are only shut for one or two days maximum, unlike my childhood where they could be shut all weekend and into the following week.
So, I don't know when I'm going shopping but probably Monday to go to the Grainger market in Newcastle. I might take a trip to Aldi and see what can find as main dish (DH doesn't like poultry).
I think this must be the first year that other events have taken over so thoroughly.
Anyway happy Christmas to all, relax, enjoy and have a laugh. For me, give thanks in my heart for my joy and good fortune in having a wonderful loving family. What more could I wish for?